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You may not realize it, but French accents have a purpose. While some accents just signify that an S used to follow that vowel in Old French (e.g., Ă©tudiant used to be spelled estudiant), most French accents indicate the correct pronunciation of the letter they modify. In addition, there are dozens of French word pairs which are spelled (though not always pronounced) the same other than accents. To avoid confusion, you should always distinguish between these words by using the correct accents.*
la - (definite article) the; (direct object pronoun) her, it
lĂ - (adverb) there
levé - survey; past participle of lever (to lift, raise)
lève - first and third person singular of lever (applies to many stem-changing verbs)
liquide - liquid
liquidé - past participle of liquider (to settle, pay; to liquidate, sell off; [inf] to finish off)
mais - (conjunction) but
maĂŻs - corn
marche - walking, step, stair
marché - market; past participle of marcher (to walk, march; to work)
masse - mass
massé - past participle of masser (to assemble, mass, group)
mat - checkmate; (adjective) matte, dull
mât - mast, pole
mater - to subdue; (familiar) to ogle; to caulk; (familiar noun) mom, mum
mâter - to mast
mémé - (baby talk) granny
mĂŞme - (adverb) same
meuble - piece of furniture
meublé - (adjective) furnished
modelé - contours, relief; past participle of modeler (to model, shape, style, mold)
modèle - model, design
mur - wall
mûr - (adjective) ripe
notre - (possessive adjective) our
nĂ´tre - (possessive pronoun) ours
nuance - shade, hue, slight difference, nuance
nuancé - (adjective) qualified, balanced, nuanced; past participle of nuancer (to shade, qualify, nuance)
ou - (conjunction) or
oĂą - (adverb) where
pâte - pastry, paste; pâtes - pasta
pâté - pâté
péché - past participle of pécher
pĂŞche - peach, fishing
pécher - to sin
pĂŞcher - to fish
pécheur - sinner
pĂŞcheur - fisherman
prĂŞte - (feminine adjective) ready
prêté - past participle of prêter (to lend)
rate - spleen
raté - past participle of rater (to fail, miss)
relâche - rest, respite
relâché - loose, lax
reste - rest, leftover
resté - past participle of rester (to stay)
retraite - retreat, retirement
retraité - retired person; past participle of retraiter (to reprocess)
rot - belch, burp
rĂ´t - (archaic) roast
roue - wheel
roué - (adj) cunning, sly; un roué - cunning/sly person; past participle of rouer (to beat/thrash)
roule - first and third person singular of rouler (to wheel/roll along)
roulé - curved, rolled
sale - dirty
salé - salty
sinistre (adj) gloomy, sinister; (m noun) accident, disaster, damage
sinistré (adj) stricken, devastated; (m noun) disaster victim
sublime - sublime
sublimé - sublimated
suicide - act of suicide
suicidé - victim of suicide
sur - (preposition) on
sûr - (adjective) sure
tache - mark, spot, stain
tâche - task
valide - able-bodied, fit, valid
validé - validated
vide - empty
vidé - worn out; past participle of vider (to empty; to wear out)
votre - (possessive adjective) your
vĂ´tre - (possessive pronoun) yours
More accent homographs:A to J | L to V | Quiz
*It is grammatically acceptable to leave accents off capital letters.
However, since missing accents may cause confusion in pronunciation and meaning and are technically spelling mistakes, I feel that one should always write with accents.
You may not realize it, but French accents have a purpose. While some accents just signify that an S used to follow that vowel in Old French (e.g., Ă©tudiant used to be spelled estudiant), most French accents indicate the correct pronunciation of the letter they modify. In addition, there are dozens of French word pairs which are spelled (though not always pronounced) the same other than accents. To avoid confusion, you should always distinguish between these words by using the correct accents.*
la - (definite article) the; (direct object pronoun) her, it
lĂ - (adverb) there
levé - survey; past participle of lever (to lift, raise)
lève - first and third person singular of lever (applies to many stem-changing verbs)
liquide - liquid
liquidé - past participle of liquider (to settle, pay; to liquidate, sell off; [inf] to finish off)
mais - (conjunction) but
maĂŻs - corn
marche - walking, step, stair
marché - market; past participle of marcher (to walk, march; to work)
masse - mass
massé - past participle of masser (to assemble, mass, group)
mat - checkmate; (adjective) matte, dull
mât - mast, pole
mater - to subdue; (familiar) to ogle; to caulk; (familiar noun) mom, mum
mâter - to mast
mémé - (baby talk) granny
mĂŞme - (adverb) same
meuble - piece of furniture
meublé - (adjective) furnished
modelé - contours, relief; past participle of modeler (to model, shape, style, mold)
modèle - model, design
mur - wall
mûr - (adjective) ripe
notre - (possessive adjective) our
nĂ´tre - (possessive pronoun) ours
nuance - shade, hue, slight difference, nuance
nuancé - (adjective) qualified, balanced, nuanced; past participle of nuancer (to shade, qualify, nuance)
ou - (conjunction) or
oĂą - (adverb) where
pâte - pastry, paste; pâtes - pasta
pâté - pâté
péché - past participle of pécher
pĂŞche - peach, fishing
pécher - to sin
pĂŞcher - to fish
pécheur - sinner
pĂŞcheur - fisherman
prĂŞte - (feminine adjective) ready
prêté - past participle of prêter (to lend)
rate - spleen
raté - past participle of rater (to fail, miss)
relâche - rest, respite
relâché - loose, lax
reste - rest, leftover
resté - past participle of rester (to stay)
retraite - retreat, retirement
retraité - retired person; past participle of retraiter (to reprocess)
rot - belch, burp
rĂ´t - (archaic) roast
roue - wheel
roué - (adj) cunning, sly; un roué - cunning/sly person; past participle of rouer (to beat/thrash)
roule - first and third person singular of rouler (to wheel/roll along)
roulé - curved, rolled
sale - dirty
salé - salty
sinistre (adj) gloomy, sinister; (m noun) accident, disaster, damage
sinistré (adj) stricken, devastated; (m noun) disaster victim
sublime - sublime
sublimé - sublimated
suicide - act of suicide
suicidé - victim of suicide
sur - (preposition) on
sûr - (adjective) sure
tache - mark, spot, stain
tâche - task
valide - able-bodied, fit, valid
validé - validated
vide - empty
vidé - worn out; past participle of vider (to empty; to wear out)
votre - (possessive adjective) your
vĂ´tre - (possessive pronoun) yours
More accent homographs:A to J | L to V | Quiz
*It is grammatically acceptable to leave accents off capital letters.
However, since missing accents may cause confusion in pronunciation and meaning and are technically spelling mistakes, I feel that one should always write with accents.